Caitlin De Wit (born 19 June 1987) is a 3.0 point Australian

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

player. She was part of the

Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team The Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team is the women's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Gliders. The team hasn't won a gold medal for Australia since i ...

at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2013, and the Asia-Oceania Zone Qualifiers in Bangkok in November 2013. She played with the Hills Hornets team that won the Women's National Wheelchair basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and the Sydney University Flames team that won it in 2010.

Personal

Caitlin De Wit was born on 19 June 1987, and grew up on the Central Coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. She attended

Central Coast Grammar School Central Coast Grammar School is an independent secular co-educational primary and secondary day school, located in Erina Heights on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The school provides a general education for approximately 1,3 ...

, and then

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

, where she studied for a

Bachelor of Applied Science A Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS or BASc) is an undergraduate academic degree of applied sciences. Usage In Canada, the Netherlands and other places the Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) is equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering, and is cl ...

degree in Equine Studies. During her first year at Charles Sturt, she broke her L4-L6

lumbar vertebrae The lumbar vertebrae are located between the thoracic vertebrae and pelvis. They form the lower part of the back in humans, and the tail end of the back in quadrupeds. In humans, there are five lumbar vertebrae. The term is used to describe t ...

in a

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

accident. She was airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital, where she was diagnosed as an incomplete paraplegic. She returned to Charles Sturt to complete her degree, assisted by a 2006 ParaQuad scholarship, and graduated in 2007. In 2010, she began studying for a

Bachelor of Veterinary Science The Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc or BVSC; Latin Baccalaureus Veterinariae Scientiae), "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine" (BVetMed), or "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery" ("BVM&S" or "BVMS") is a degree for studies in veterinary me ...

degree at

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where she received a Sydney University Sports and Fitness Elite Athlete Program scholarship.

Wheelchair basketball

Club

De Wit is classified as a 3.0 point player. She began playing

in 2007. She joined with the Sydney-based

Hills Hornets Hills Hornets is a NBL1 East club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Hills Basketball Association (HBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in ...

, who won the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) title in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Renamed the Sydney University Flames team in 2010, the team were league champions again that year.

National

De Wit made her international debut playing for the Under 25 team in the Under 25 Women's Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Canada in 2011, winning a silver medal. In 2012, she trained with Porto Torres, an Italian team. She made her debut with the senior team, known as the Gliders, at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2013, where the Gliders successfully defended the trophy they had won in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. In October 2013, she was selected to play at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Asia/Oceania Championships in Thailand in November 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Wit, Caitlin 1987 births Living people Australian women's wheelchair basketball players 21st-century Australian sportswomen Charles Sturt University alumni People from the Central Coast (New South Wales) Basketball players from New South Wales Sportswomen from New South Wales